Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
JESSICA
A low groan escapes me as I slowly come to my senses. My whole body feels heavy, pain piercing through my skull as I blink my eyes open. I extend my hand so I can rub my throbbing temples to alleviate some of the pain, but it feels like my hands are glued to the surface beneath me.
What the hell?
My heartbeat kicks up as panic swells inside my chest. I force my eyes to open. Only, the bright light blinds me into submission once again. The pulsing pain is so strong that it makes dark spots appear in my vision.
Holy shit.
My breathing is ragged, my pulse beating wildly, the sound echoing in my head, which only makes it hurt more. My mouth feels desert dry, and it’s hard to swallow.
What is wrong with me?
I try to push through the pain and recall the last thing I remember, but everything is so hazy.
Did I drink that much?
That doesn’t seem right. Sure, Mae and I like to have a few drinks, but never in my life have I gotten blackout drunk.
Then what happened?
Sucking in a long breath, I turn my head, slower this time—much, much slower. I open my eyes, carefully taking in the unfamiliar space.
It’s a bedroom of some sort. In a cottage?
My brows furrow. The stale, smelly air in the room doesn’t help one bit with my raging headache.
The walls are wood paneled, and old-fashioned curtains hang on the window.
The room is sparsely decorated, with a queen-sized bed that I’m currently lying on and a small dresser against the wall. There’s an empty chair next to the bed.
I try moving my hands again, to push myself upright, but that burn against my skin is unyielding. I look over my shoulder, trying to figure out why I can’t move, when I see a glimpse of silver on my wrists.
Duct tape.
There is duct tape on my wrists.
Holding them together.
Binding them behind my back.
Panic rises in my throat. I move my wrists, frantic to free them. I’m so focused on the task, I barely hear the soft rattle of the door.
“You’re awake.”
I look up, a long breath escaping me.
“Aiden, oh my God!” My eyes fall shut, the relief slamming into me at finding a familiar face. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you. Can you please—” I try to move my hands to show him my wrists. “I need to get these off of me, and—”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
His cold tone sends an icy chill down my spine. My body goes rigid, the thumping of my heart becoming louder as everything falls into place, the snapshots of earlier coming back to me in a blur.
My fight with Matthew.
Running away.
Wanting to call Mae.
The blinding pain spreading through my skull.
The sweet scent enveloping all my senses as darkness claimed me.
I told you he wasn’t worth it.
Aiden quirks his brow, the corner of his mouth lifting upward. “Didn’t see it coming, did you?” he asks softly as he steps into the room. “They never do.”
His dark eyes hold me hostage as he comes to a stop beside the bed, his fingers slipping under my jaw. His grip on me is hard as he tilts my chin up. “I tried to warn you, but you never listen. You’re mine, Terry. You can’t run away from me.”
Terry?
“I’ll always find you,” he whispers, an almost gentle note in his voice. It would be sweet if there weren’t something dark shining in his eyes. “You’re mine, do you get that? You can deny it all you want, but you. Are. Mine.”
His grip on me tightens, making my lips part.
My heart races faster, palms turning sweaty as his words register in my mind.
Deny it all you want, but you’re mine.
“It was you.” Holy shit. “You broke into my house.”
Not Damien.
Aiden.
The notes.
The flowers.
This whole time, it was Aiden.
“Because you wouldn’t listen!” he roars.
Sharp pain spreads through my face as my head whips to the side from the impact, making me gasp.
“You never listen, Terry.”
I peek at him through the curtain of my hair, my whole body trembling. “I’m n-not Terry.”
“Don’t start with this again. This is your fault. All of it. If you had just listened to me, none of this would have been necessary.”
I swallow hard, the coppery taste spreading over my tongue.
“But instead, you whored around. First with that idiot Damien and then the cop,” he spits out, his expression turning darker.
“I-it’s not—”
His fingers sink into my hair, pulling my head back. “Don’t you dare lie to me. I’ve seen you with them. I told you they don’t deserve you. But did you listen? No. So now I guess I’ll have to get that stubbornness out of you in a different way.”
Icy fear spreads through my veins. His grip on me is harsh, and there is no slipping out of it, not by sheer force. Not that I have much strength left, not after he drugged me. And if it’s to be judged by the blaring pain pulsing behind my temples, he possibly even gave me a concussion.
“I’ll listen!” I plead. “I can listen.”
Maybe if I can convince him to give me a chance, that I’m willing to do things his way, he’ll calm down and I’ll have a chance to get away.
A fool’s chance for Matthew to realize I’m gone.
To find me.
Does he realize I’m missing? Is he out there looking for me?
If so, he probably feels guilty as hell. Thinks that this is somehow his fault, when it couldn’t be further from the truth.
But what if he doesn’t know? What if nobody realized I’m missing, and I’m left to figure it out on my own?
“No, you can’t,” he grinds out, tugging my hair harder. Dark, perverse pleasure shines on his face. “You’ve shown me that time and again. But this time will be different.”
His other hand slides down my neck. Revulsion spreads through me at his touch, making the bile rise in my throat as his fingers wrap around it.
“I’ll be b-better. P-please.”
His fingers tighten around my neck, squeezing lightly.
My lips part, tears blurring my eyes.
This can’t be happening.
But it is.
And there is nothing I can do to stop it. Stop him.
He leans down, crushing his mouth against mine as he straddles me. I can feel his hard-on pressing against my belly as he assaults my mouth with his.
Disgust and fear make me gag, and I can feel the burning in my throat.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to dissociate. From this moment. From the feel of his body pressing into mine. Trying not to think about what he might do to me…
A soft beep sounds in the air.
It’s so soft, I think I must have imagined it, but then he pulls back and grabs his phone out of his pocket as he bites hard into my lip. “Don’t go anywhere.”
Panic raises inside me at his words, at the implication of what’s coming. I rub my wrists, trying to get free as tears blur my eyes.
“He’s coming for me. Matthew will find me and—”
My words are cut off as he backhands me again, fiery tingles spreading through my cheek as white spots dance in my vision.
“Shut up!” Aiden yells in outrage, pure hatred shining in his eyes.
“He’s not taking you from me. I’m going to kill him for putting his hands on what’s mine.
Nobody is taking you from me again.” His fingers dig into my chin as his spit splatters over my face.
“Do you hear me? I’m going to kill him.”
Unadulterated rage seeps from his every word. Fear paralyzes me. I’ve never seen evil staring at me like that.
He’s lost his mind.
Then that beep sounds again. He glares at me for a moment longer before his gaze falls on his phone, and he curses loudly.
“Fucking hell.”
His balled fist slams next to my head.
“They know.”
I suck in a sharp breath at the sudden impact. At the fury and madness shining in his eyes as he glares at me. “Wh-what?”
“He won’t have you. Not now, not ever. You’re mine. And if he tries, I’m going to end him.”